Guthrie Tribute, Jazz Ensembles Highlight Grammy Fest Programs

With five days left until the Grammy Awards ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium, the Los Angeles Grammy Fest enters its final stages with a series of programs ranging from a tribute to Woody Guthrie to five performances by the Grammy All-American High School Jazz Ensembles.

Guthrie, whose socially conscious songs from the ‘30s and ‘40s influenced countless folk and rock musicians, will be honored at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles in a program that will feature home movies.

In addition, the evening will include excerpts from the documentary “Man in the Sand,” about the making of Billy Bragg & Wilco’s “Mermaid Avenue,” a Guthrie-related album. Guthrie’s son Arlo will also perform with other members of the family.

The Jazz Ensembles, which consist of 34 musicians from high schools in 15 states, will perform at Borders in Westwood (at 8 tonight) and Borders in Santa Monica (at 7:30 p.m. Saturday), the Jazz Bakery (at 8 p.m. Sunday), Catalina Bar & Grill (at 8 p.m. Monday) and at the “Grammy in the Schools” program at the USC School of Music (at 9 a.m. Tuesday).

Both projects are part of the monthlong Grammy Fest, which was developed largely by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in collaboration with the Los Angeles Host Committee and cultural partners, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage.

Though there has been a variety of cultural programs held in conjunction with the Grammys over the years, this is the first time they have all been organized and promoted under the Grammy Fest banner.

“As we built the show over the years, it became more and more apparent that we had a wonderful opportunity to utilize the Grammys as kind of a platform to showcase the importance of music education, dance, theater, spoken word and children’s concerts,” said Michael Greene, president and chief executive of the academy.

Besides the Guthrie and Jazz Ensembles events, the remaining Grammy Fest activities include a lecture and film saluting Ella Fitzgerald (at 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday at the California African-American Museum) and the “Grammy in the Schools” program at USC on Tuesday, in which more than 1,200 Southern California high school students will learn about the music industry from industry professionals, including artists Missy Elliott and Faith Hill, as well as record producers Phil Ramone and David Foster.

A full list of Grammy Fest information is available at the recording academy Web site: https://www.grammy.com.